Understanding How Space Turbulence Works

Researchers at the UI and UCLA have measured for the first time in the laboratory, the fundamental interaction underlying turbulence in space and astrophysical plasmas. This animation shows the daughter Alfven wave produced by the nonlinear interaction between two primary Alfven waves, with the brighter colors (yellow, red) indicating the power in this daughter wave.

Credit: James Schroeder, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa